Free Press wins 3 national Murrow Awards

Left, Organizer Hannah Morgan rallies hundreds of protesters in Montpelier in October demanding a stop to a Vermont Gas pipeline extension being built through Addison County. Protesters then gained entry to the Pavilion Building and Gov. Peter Shumlin's office, where they staged a sit-in.(Photo: KEVIN HURLEY/for the FREE PRESS/FILE)

FreePressMedia has won three national Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in digital reporting — including the top honor of Overall Excellence.

The Free Press also won in the categories Breaking News and Sports for video journalism produced in 2014.

Producing the Sports and Breaking News video were Visuals Coach Ryan Mercer. Kevin Hurley, a freelancer from Burlington, shot footage for the Breaking News video. The Overall Excellence award reflected an effort by many individuals that included video and other information from the website.

"To receive an Overall Excellence award, a news organization must exemplify the highest standards in serving its audience through quality electronic journalism," the Radio Television Digital News Association said in announcing the awards Wednesday morning.

The awards mark the second national citations for the Burlington Free Press from RTDNA. The Free Press won a single national award last year for Breaking News.

"I am incredibly proud of this team. They are setting the bar high in the new media landscape," said Al Getler, FreePressMedia president and publisher. "FreePressMedia serves our readers and customers on all platforms. Serving our communities in Vermont is our No. 1 priority. If we are recognized by our peers along the way, all the better."

The chairwoman of the RTDNA praised the winners.

"From investigations that probe the issues that divide us, to features that highlight what can unite us, our winners are truly the best of the best," RTDNA Chairwoman Amy Tardif said in a statement. "Their work demonstrates the dedication and perseverance that exemplify the highest standards of journalism excellence."

RTDNA describes itself as "the world's largest professional organization exclusively serving the electronic news profession."

Other news organizations to earn Overall Excellence citations include ABC News in the Network Television category, The Denver Post (Large Online News Organization), KING-TV in Seattle (Large Market Television) and New Hampshire Public Radio in Concord (Small Market Radio).

The Burlington Free Press joined the Washington Post and The Denver Post as the only online news organizations to win three Murrow Awards.

The three awards for the Free Press were among 12 won by media ownership company Gannett. Other Gannett properties to earn Murrow Awards include KING and KARE in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with two each, the Des Moines Register in Iowa and the Detroit Free Press with one each, and three other television stations, each with one citation.

"Gannett has always been a company where content comes first and our commitment to quality journalism is second to none," Gracia Martore, president and CEO of Gannett, said in a statement. "These 12 awards, in addition to the 72 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards we won earlier this year, are a testament to the exceptional work being done daily by our journalists that makes an impact in the communities we serve.

"It is always an honor to be recognized by the RTDNA, and I congratulate all of our winners."

In Vermont, WPTZ-TV joined the Free Press in earning a national citation. The NBC affiliate won the Continuing Coverage category for Small Market Television for reporting titled "DCF: Agency in Crisis."

The RTDNA received 4,400 entries from across the country for the regional awards. Winners moved on to national competition. The Free Press competes in the Small Online News Organization category.

The Free Press won five regional awards this spring. Four other media companies in Vermont won regional Murrow Awards: Vermont Public Radio, WPTZ, WCAX and WFFF/WVNY-TV.

The awards are named after pioneering broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow, who rose to prominence with radio coverage of World War II and later became a pioneer in television broadcast news.

"Murrow's pursuit of excellence in journalism embodies the spirit of the awards that carry his name," the association stated. "Murrow Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Edward R. Murrow made a standard for the broadcast news profession."

Edward R. Murrow carved his reputation with radio coverage of the outbreak of World War II while he was in Europe. After the war, he was a pioneer in television broadcast news whose coverage opened the way to the political downfall of Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

National award recipients will be feted at a gala in New York in October.

This story was originally posted online June 24, 2015.

The awards

OVERALL EXCELLENCE, INCLUDING THESE VIDEO STORIES:

•Breaking News

Fighting for power:

CLOSE

An army of Green Mountain Power crews and contractors descended on Jericho, like many across Vermont, after state-wide power outages following winter weather some say is worse that the 1998 ice storm.
RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS

•Breaking News

Protesters gain entry to Governor's Office:

CLOSE

Opponents of the expansion of a gas pipeline in Vermont walked into the Pavilion Building in Montpelier, got on an elevator, pressed No. 5, and exited the elevator in front of Gov. Peter Shumlin's office, said a Rising Tide a volunteer.
KEVIN HURLEY and RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS

•Breaking News

"Ok, I resign, happy?" Burlington College president quits:

CLOSE

Burlington College students protest outside board meeting, demanding that President Christine Plunkett step down, corner her in parking lot, blocking car. Question remains whether President Plunkett meant what she said, or not.

•News Documentary:

Hill Farmstead 500 mile beer run:

CLOSE

Beer tourism brings hops lovers from afar to Vermont in search of the perfect beer. Video taken in August 2014.
GLENN RUSSELL/FREE PRESS

Sit in the driver's seat with record-setting men's handcycle racer Jeremy Shortsleeve of Jericho, who smashed his own best time to set a new record at 26th KeyBank Vermont City Marathon on Sunday, May 25, 2014.
RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS

BREAKING NEWS, for:

Kevin Hurley, a freelancer, started out covering a rally held by environmental activists on the steps of the Statehouse in Montpelier protesting work to expand a Vermont Gas pipeline in Addison County. But the rally soon turned into a sit-in as protesters gained entry to Gov. Peter Shumlin's office and, for hours, conducted their protest inside his office. Hurley and Free Press reporter Sally Pollak took Free Press viewers with them, covering the story as no one else did. Ryan Mercer then edited Hurley's footage into the 2015 Edward R. Murrow Award winner.

SPORTS, for:

Free Press Visuals Coach Ryan Mercer wanted to document the Burlington City Marathon in a new way and found that new way in hand-cycle champion and record-setter Jeremy Shortsleeve, who agreed to allow Mercer to fix three GoPro cameras to his hand cycle, documenting Shortsleeve's performance with his second record-setting win, the 2015 Edward R. Murrow award winner.